Hi everyone,
I’ve been using KDE Plasma for about 10 days on a triple-monitor setup. While I love the flexibility, I’ve encountered a significant workflow bottleneck regarding how widgets (especially those in the Taskbar/Panel) handle settings across multiple displays.
I would like to start a discussion on three specific pain points and potential solutions:
1. Lack of Global Widget Settings / Synchronization
Currently, if I have a clock widget on all three monitors and want to change the date format, I have to manually perform the exact same configuration three times.
Proposed Solution: - Implement a “Sync settings with other instances of this widget” toggle.
- Or, establish a “Global Default” for widget types so that new or existing instances can inherit the same configuration.
2. UI Transparency Regarding Scope
The current widget configuration panel does not explicitly state that changes are “Local” to that specific monitor. This leads to user confusion when settings don’t propagate to other screens.
Proposed Solution:
- Add a label in the settings panel indicating which display is being edited (e.g., “Settings for Digital Clock — Display 1”).
- Provide a “Apply to all screens” button within the individual widget settings.
3. Missing Centralized Widget Management
Right now, to edit a widget, you must physically navigate to that specific monitor and click the widget. On large triple-monitor setups, this is tedious.
Proposed Solution:
- A “Widget Manager” inside System Settings.
- This would provide a tree-view or list of all active displays, the panels/desktops attached to them, and the widgets contained within.
- Users should be able to click a widget from this list to open its settings directly, regardless of which monitor it is physically located on.
I believe these changes would significantly improve the “out-of-the-box” experience for professional users and multi-monitor enthusiasts.